CJ 450 Counter Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CJ 450 Counter Terrorism - Essay Example ding assignments, what status, rights, and protections would you afford someone who was an American citizen captured in the United States in the act of terrorist violence? How about someone who was a foreign national engage in terrorism in the United States? An American citizen fights American forces abroad? A foreign national, but not a member of a nations military, fighting American forces abroad? Would torture of any of these subjects ever be justified if it could save lives? How serious is the problem of anti-Americanism here at home? Should people be accountable for inciting violence when they glorify violent acts against America but themselves do not engage in it? What remedies are available to the government, if any, to deal with schools, mosques, and charities that indirectly support terrorism while not actually engaging in it? What should the remedies be? Give your overall assessment of the USA PATRIOT ACT. Do you think it has contributed to the lack of terror attacks in the United States since 9/11? If you were in Congress, would you vote to renew the act as is? Would you change anything? Why or why not? The 9/11 attacks upon the United States changed the vast majority of peoples’ perceptions about the importance as well as the necessity for improved and extended counterterrorism units to prevent further bombings.1 Without those attacks my job would not exist within its present format. The federal government the armed forces, the FBI, and the CIA underestimated the ability of Al-Qaeda to launch large-scale attacks within the United States, despite being of its previous bombings of American targets abroad. The Clinton administration had only carried out limited missile strikes against suspected Al-Qaeda bases in the Sudan, and seemed to be aware of that organization’s move to Afghanistan.2 American society has altered drastically in the last couple of decades due to immigration of people from Islamic countries in Asia and the

Describe the worst team experience you have ever had. What did you do Essay

Describe the worst team experience you have ever had. What did you do - Essay Example He asked me to fill in as head of our unit until they found an officer whos free and ready to take on. I gave him my worries of being a temporary superior to my team mates. The head promised me his full support in case of any insubordination. This was not a solution, I would still have to go back and work with these people once the new officer arrives. I decided I had to do my job as head of the unit, and still keep strong ties with my colleagues. I remembered Jim Collin’s level five leadership styles and was ready to undertake the challenging role (Collins, 2001). My colleagues became jealous of my new appointment. One of them swore not to take any orders from me, and stormed out of the room. The first 2 weeks in my position were a nightmare. People refused to due their work, or take any new assignments from me. But as tough as it was, I could not report them for that meant losing them. I felt like a juggler, trying not to drop a ball. As time passed, I realized all my team mates needed was equality. I decided to restructure our unit temporarily while I’m heading it. I gave each member a field where only he was responsible. They still had to report back to me, but I think it made them feel as if my appointment was just and administrative one, while in fact not much had changed. Not only did this strategy work for work relations, but our unit was doing better work than before. This worked right because my colleagues treated me well after I left the

Trends and Changes in the Legal Industry

Trends and Changes in the Legal Industry A Report issued for Samantha at PLS to discuss the trends and potential changes in the legal industry alongside financial analysis of the firm and another competitor. Future investment opportunities are also discussed as well as overall advantages and disadvantages. The Legal Sector and Brexit Britain opting to leave the European Union shook the country last year. The uncertainty surrounding Brexit has left legal professionals around the world nervously awaiting its impact on the commercial world. During the two year negotiation period law firms will be awaiting news of a hard or soft Brexit and further establishing how each potential outcome could implicate their clients. 1.1 A hard or soft Brexit? A hard Brexit wold involve Britain giving up full access to the single market and losing all rights to free movement within the EU. However, trading would be regulated by the World Trade Organisation suggesting that there would be no confusion politically about the withdrawal from the EU.[1] On the other hand, a soft Brexit would entail staying closely involved with the EU and keeping access to the single market. This would follow Scandinavian models whereby there is no membership of the EU but still access to the single market via the European Economic Area. 1.2 How Financial Services could be affected Within the commercial world, financial services would be one of the sectors most affected by a hard Brexit because businesses would lose their passport rights to operate in the EU. London is currently ranked as leading in financial services, meaning that Britain has a large trading surplus in the EU[2]. 7.7% of the UKs GDP is from outputting financial services with over 1.1 million employed in the industry and two thirds of them working outside London[3]. Therefore, losing access to the single market would affect many businesses and consequently clients of large commercial firms. The UK financial service sector has been considering loopholes if a hard Brexit is initiated. As banks are mostly affected by losing EU passport rights, alternative options are being considered if the UK did leave the single market with no deal negotiated (essentially a worst-case scenario situation).[4] Insurance and Asset management are less affected because they tend to be part of a global industry, for example, Lloyds of London[5]. However, many banks including HSBC, JP Morgan Chase, UBS and Morgan Stanley are standing by to move thousands of employees to countries within Europe ahead of negotiations taking place.[6] A report issued by Shearman and Stirling suggested that there are various ways of trading with the EU without needing a passport[7]. Some of the main loopholes being discussed are: Reverse solicitation Delegation of fund management/outsourcing of services Conduit entities Back to back trading[8] Back to back trading is the most prevalent of the four listed. Banks would sell its services from a local entity to EU clientele but would then transfer to the UK immediately after[9]. A drawback is that this is a short term solution, but can give law firms more time to find a long term alternative. EU regulators are also likely to frown upon loopholes when they will be relied upon by firms to carry on trading under a hard Brexit. [10]Essentially it is difficult for large commercial law firms to plan exactly how they are going to deal with the loss of passport rights. However, it would be beneficial if the UK attempts to convince the EU-27 that keeping financial markets open across the Channel is a matter of mutual interest because fragmenting Londons Ecosystem would lead to higher costs for everyone involved.[11] 1.3 The Technology sector Brexit will likely cause little affect to the technology and innovation sector on the premise that the UK stays in the European Economic Area. However, if negotiations mean that the UK fully detaches from the EU, then changes to this sector, as with many others, will be more wide-ranging[12]. Nevertheless, it must be remembered that there are successful countries operating outside of the EU. Norway is a prime example and has a strong presence in the technology and innovation sector without benefitting from EEA tax incentives, research, development, investment and funding.[13] More specifically intellectual property rights are mostly unaffected because they are not regulated by the EU. However, data protection is a hot topic of discussion. It remains to be seen if businesses within the UK will still be allowed to collect sale activity data via subsidiaries in the EU and whether the UK adopts the General Data Protection Regulation. [14]Technology has the same potential threats as financial services and the two year negotiation period will conclude the next chapter for the legal industry. However, it must be remembered that regardless of the outcome, advice and expertise of commercial lawyers will still be needed. Financial Analysis of PLS and FFS PLS 2016 PLS 2015 FFS 2016 FFS 2015 Profitability Return on capital employed 50.35 % 1:0.50 48.77% 1:0.48 91.08% 1:0.91 81.07% 1:0.81 Return on sales 27.99% 1:0.27 27.10% 1:0.27 31.05% 1:0.31 32.26% 1:0.32 Asset utilisation ratio 1:1.80 1:1.80 1:2.93 1:2.51 Liquidity and solvency Current ratio 1:2.63 1:2.90 1:2.14 1:2.40 Liquid ratio 1:2.63 1:2.90 1:2.14 1:2.40 Efficiency Creditor days 191.82 days 160.28 days 174.12 days 164.38 days Debtor days 233.08 days 209.64 days 198.05 days 188.01 days Stock days 0 0 0 0 Investment Gearing 52.80% 1:0.52 44.37% 1:0.44 79.90% 1:0.79 66.28% 1:0.66 Return on equity 48.66% 1:0.48 47.24% 1:0.47 87.20% 1:0.87 78.26% 1:0.78 Interest cover 0 0 0 0 Profitability Law firms are increasingly using profit to measure their firms success rather than revenue. This is because profit is a more accurate version of how the firm, large or small, is doing financially. Law firms are ranked by revenue so it is understandable to focus on this, but often profit points/important data can be overlooked. A law firm is a business and must always aim to improve profitability. [15] 2.1.1 Return on capital employed (ROCE) ROCE is a ratio that measures how successfully a company is turning its capital invested into profit. A higher percentage indicates a more effective use of capital and therefore an increase in shareholder value. When comparing revenue, FFS has a much higher yearly figure than PLS but its revenue has dropped significantly in just one year (70m). In 2016, FFS turned 91.08% of its capital into profit, which is a large improvement from the previous year which measured at 81.07%. The large percentage of profit stemming from capital investment may be due to a higher amount of reserves being re-entered back into the business. FFS seem to be using their share capital in a more financially beneficial way than PLS by retaining their reserves rather than distributing them all to members. This may be because recent investments in new offices needed funding. Eventually, FFS will be striving for a larger shareholder value. PLS has not seen a significant increase in ROCE (less than 2%). This suggests that substantial investment is not occurring. Instead they are using local firms in China, and not reinvesting profit for the financial year available for division amongst members. It may lessen their revenue for a while but investing in new offices like FFS could eventually improve their profitability and shareholder value. 2.1.2Return on sales (ROS) The ROS is a measure of how much profit is being formed per pound of sales. FFS suffered a decrease in their ROS by 1.21% which may be because of their loss in operating profit. Comparatively, PLS improved their percentage by 0.9% from 2015-2016. Where FFS have seen a significant increase in staff costs, PLS have only seen a minor one. Where FFS have suffered a large decrease in turnover, PLS have seen a minor one. PLS may have also focused more attention on the 6 profit points and lessened expenses to improve their overall profitability. PLS is unlikely to be underperforming as it is converting a similar amount of company revenue into profit as FFS, even though FFS has a much higher turnover. 2.1.3Asset utilisation ratio (AUR) The AUR for PLS has not increased from 2015-2016. This would be because they have not invested in the firm to gain more asset appreciation. Generally, the higher the AUR, the better the company is performing because it would be generating more revenue per pound of assets. FFS have invested in new offices meaning the general equity has decreased significantly since 2015. The equity at PLS has barely changed suggesting a higher inefficiency to deploy assets in order to generate a higher revenue. 2.2 Liquidity and Solvency 2.2.1 Current ratio The current ratio portrays the health of the business. A ratio above 1 but no higher than 3 suggests efficiency in utilising assets. Both firms are within this bracket but in 2015 PLS came close to 3 suggesting that they are not investing assets back into the firm as efficiently as they could. This however reduced significantly the next year. 2.3 Efficiency 2.3.1 Debtors days Debtors days is the measurement in days that a firm will take to collect cash from debts. Both firms have rising debtors days but it would take PLS longer to receive debts owed as the days have grown by 25 compared to FFS with only 10. It is well known that billing clients can be a long process and usually the cause for lengthy debtors day results from firms. However, clients could also be asking for longer or different credit terms causing the rise for both firms. PLS could take into account purchasing new software to speed up the billing process, generally improving timekeeping and tracking firm financials more acutely to improve their figures. 2.4 Investment Return on equity (ROE) The ROE depicts a firms profitability regarding how much profit is made from money shareholders have invested. ROCE and ROE come hand in hand because ROE analyses how much profit is being made from shareholder investment where ROCE assesses how much shareholder investment has gone into the company. FFS have a much higher ROE, which has increased by 10% in the year 2015-2016. PLS have barely seen an increase in growth suggesting that they are not investing their equity efficiently enough. Although FFS have suffered a massive reduction in revenue and remuneration to members, their investment from equity seems to be paying off. In 2016 87.20% of shareholder money transferred to profits whereas PLS only saw 48.66 %. Potentially investing globally with equity money could benefit the overall profitability of PLS. 3. Strategy and the legal industry All Industries change how they conduct business when assessing potential and current trends in their environment. This is often done by using analytical tools which further evidence changes to strategic positioning. 3.1 PESTEL PESTEL is a tool used to identify different trends of the legal macro environment. Politically speaking, Brexit is the most current threat to the legal environment. As a result of a hard Brexit the economy may suffer because large corporations are likely to move outside of the UK. [16]This means that the economy will not only suffer from loss of business but lack of investment. Brexit has already caused many firms to hold off further investment, which may be why PLS are considering opening a new office outside of the EU. The tightening of the government purse will also have an effect on firms, particularly in the energy sector where less contracts have become available.[17] Social aspects include the changes in loyalty of clients because it is much easier to shop around and choose different firms. It is in the interest of fee earners to keep their clients satisfied so they dont lose them to other firms. There has been a significant boom in software and technology recently. Clients of law firms who previously would have sought legal advice now have access to the internet and free online legal tools. However, on a more positive note firms have typically improved timing and efficiency because of billing and database software made specifically for law firms. [18]Most firms have also reduced the amount of paper being used because this is more attractive to environmentally conscious clients. The Legal Services Act [19]has meant that accountancy firms such as Deloitte and PWC have extended their own in house legal departments. Consequently, large commercial firms have lost clients and further gained competitors. Brexit may also cause loss of employment rights, lessen mergers and acquisitions and could cause various laws to be changed. 3.2 Porters Five Forces Porters five forces is a tool to assess how competitive forces shape strategy and ultimately profitability. This methodology was initially applied to the legal industry, but seemed to defy the competitive pressures outlined in Porters article, whereby it still experienced a rapid rise in profitability.[20] However, recent changes in the legal industry has led to re-evaluation regarding the use of the five forces tool, to gain an insight into the competitive market of law. The bargaining power of suppliers usually refers to the firms employees, as they do not have suppliers in the typical sense. There has been a growing amount of legal talent throughout the past three years [21]which means that firms have been able to reduce fee agreements. For example, instead of hiring more solicitors a firm may choose to hire experienced paralegals which would cost significantly less. Although this is positive, it does mean that recruiting fees are higher and may cause retention rates of staff to be lower. The power of buyers is the most commanding part of the five forces in terms of competitive strategy. Firms have seen less customer loyalty and less dependency from buying local for legal services.[22] Legal research charges have also been removed from overall billing which is costing firms millions in added cost.[23] The threat of new entrants relates mostly to smaller firms using technology to give legal services on the same level as larger firms.[24] This is because technology now allows this, and smaller firms charge significantly less. As PLS is an international firm it may at some point wish to enter a foreign market but some are saturated and are therefore hard to enter and be successful. The threat of substitute products and services has changed because of the Legal Services Act [25] This means that many companies who would have otherwise used law firms, are now investing in their own in house legal departments. Deloitte, an accountancy firm have done this and have subsequently saved in legal fees[26]. This all adds to the most important aspect of the five forces rivalry amongst existing competitors. However, with trends in the market changing rapidly, further threats in relation to other competitive measures are equally as important and making the market more complex. As in house becomes more popular (6 billion dollars in the US market in 2 years) [27]and client loyalty lessens, firms need to acknowledge that new service models create separation from rivals and provide the uncontested market space necessary to limit the impact of Porters Five Forces on their operational strategy[28] Organic growth vs Mergers Potential Merger with a local firm It is seen that mergers and acquisitions (MAs) are one of the principal ways in which organisations can achieve rapid growth.[29] They benefit from economies of scale and therefore lower overheads which means cutting costs significantly. Commercial benefits include instant access to client databases and loss in competition with the firm chosen to merge. As PLS are also looking to set up in culture completely different to that of the UK, it would be potentially very beneficial to have access to experienced legal professionals already based in Shanghai who understand the market and clients. The burst of activity in the last quarter helped make 2016 the second-best year for dealmakers since the financial crisis.[30] Therefore, more firms are seen to be merging in order to eliminate vulnerability and to make themselves truly global rather than just international. Norton Rose recently merged with Texas Fulbright and Ashurst with Australias Blake Dawson. Meanwhile, SJ Berwin became the first ever UK firm to join arms with an Asia-Pacific firm, King Wood Mallesons, in 2013.[31] As PLS are friendly with local firms who they pay for their services, there may be an option for a potential merger with them. It would also mean that PLS do not have to pay to set up their new office in Shanghai which would save a significant amount of money. There are risks involved with potential mergers. When two companies decide upon this option they may lose aspects of their brand which could cause an array of disadvantages including loss of clientele. It will also likely mean that they have less control over the business and its future. Given the importance of interaction with their foreign customers, PLS should opt for a high degree of control over their foreign market entry mode [32]and a merger does not necessarily give this. 4.2 Setting up a new office in Shanghai Organic growth is known to be expanding the business from the inside rather than the outside (MA). The economic benefit for PLS of investing in a subsidiary office would be that they do not have to pay local firms for their service. They can build their own client database, promote their own brand and have full control of the office. Businesses that grow organically can control their rate of growth and normally face less cultural and integration challenges than those that choose an inorganic strategy.[33] However, they may face cultural challenges with clients. The risks of organic growth lie in expansion that outpaces the ability to effectively manage, stretches resources too thin, strains capital, or diverts focus from the business core mission[34]. It would cost PLS a substantial sum of money to invest in the office and is the most expensive of the foreign market entry options. Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Cash flows ( £000) (1000) 1,500 1750 2,200 2,650 2,900 Present Value (1000) 1,071.42 892.86 801.75 689.82 539.21 Net Present value:  £2,995,000.06 The investment will add  £2,995,000.06 of value to PLS and therefore the office in Shanghai is worth potentially investing in. However, there are some risks involved with the NPV calculation. It does not consider unforeseen expenditure and is often based on estimates. It therefore does not fully account for potential risk in investments costs, discount rate and projected returns. Essentially, each investment holds significant risk because both a potential merger and buying a subsidiary office are very drastic forms of expansion. Other options such as purchasing a stake in an associate office or forming a best friend alliance may fit the needs of PLS more substantially. [35]Further, they may then decide upon organic growth or a merger once they have definitive evidence that the high risk will benefit the overall firm. Bibliography Legislation General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 Legal Services Act 2007 Secondary Sources Articles Downey, J, (2008) Mergers and acquisitions, Topic Gateway Series No. 54 Blomstermo, A, Sharma, D, (2006) Choice of foreign market entry mode in service firms, International Marketing Review, Vol. 23 Issue 2 Internet Articles Kuntz B, EYVoice: Organic vs. Inorganic: Which way to grow? Forbes (14 January 2014) accessed 20 February 2017 Fontella-Khan J and Massoudi A, MA boom set to continue in 2017 Financial times (29 December 2016) accessed 20 February 2017 Cooke A, Trends affecting the legal profession (Chambers student, 20 July 2016) accessed 19 February 2017 Sims A, What is the difference between hard and soft Brexit? Everything you need to know (The Independent UK Politics, 3rd October 2016) accessed 10 February 2017 M Arnold, Banks study loopholes to enable UK branches to sell to EU clients, (Financial times, 02 February 2017) accessed 14 February 2017 Katz T and others, Brexit: What impact might leaving the EU have on the UKs financial services industry? | insights | DLA piper global law firm (DLA Piper insights, 27 June 2016) accessed 14 February 2017 Reynolds B and others, Brexit and Equivalence: Review of the Financial Services Framework Across All Sectors (Shearman and Sterling LLP, 10 August 2016) accessed 16 February 2017 Rao K, PwC report reviews state of global financial market liquidity (PWC News releases, 12 August 2015) accessed 14 February 2017 Patrick F, Porters Five forces applied to the legal industry (Thompson Reuters Elite, 9 January 2014) accessed 10 February 2017 Smith L, Porters Five forces are actually relevant to law firms (Bloomer Law Big Law Business, 19 March 2015) accessed 10 February 2017 Rebeiro M, Impact of Brexit on technology and innovation (Norton Rose Fulbright, 21 December 2016) accessed 10 February 2017 Saunders P, Black J, and McNicholls K, http://www.legalfutures.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/developing-legal-talent-2016.pdf (Deloitte, February 2016) accessed 14 February 2017 Strong F, Porters Five forces for the legal industry (LexisNexis Business of Law Blog, 7 May 2014) accessed 16 February 2017 Samuelson, S.S. and Fahey, L. (1991). Strategic planning for law firms: the application of management theory. 52 U. Pitt. L. Rev 435 Booth S, How to ensure UK and European financial services continue to thrive after Brexit (Open Europe, 17 October 2016) accessed 16 February 2017 Millard R, Beyond the box: How to realign your firms business model (Solicitors Journal, 27 June 2012) accessed 16 February 2017 The 6 Profit Points of Every Law Firm: Taking control of data to help increase your firms profitability, (LexisNexis Law Firm Practice Management WHITE PAPER SERIES, January 2013) accessed 16 February 2017 Declaration I declare that: à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ · The work in this assessment was carried out in accordance with the Regulations of The University of Law. à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ · The work is original except where indicated by acknowledgement or special reference in the text, and no part of this assessment has been presented by me or anyone else to any University or body for examination either in the United Kingdom or overseas. à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ · I have not conducted research involving human participants for the purposes of this work Date: 23rd February 2017 Word Count:2996 [1] Sims A, What is the difference between hard and soft Brexit? Everything you need to know (The Independent UK Politics, 3rd October 2016) [4] M Arnold, Banks study loopholes to enable UK branches to sell to EU clients, (Financial times, 02 February 2017) accessed 14 February 2017 [5] Booth S, How to ensure UK and European financial services continue to thrive after Brexit (Open Europe, 17 October 2016)

The Poems of William Blake Essay -- William Blake English Romantic Poe

The Poems of William Blake What have you understood, from reading the poems of William Blake? William Blake, a late 18th century English Romantic poet uses traditional forms for his poetry in that he blends the ballad, the nursery rhyme and the hymn. The meaning he constructs from these forms however is far from traditional. His style was to express very complex ideas in very simple language and compressing a lot of deep meaning into often very short poems. Blake was a rebel and was over enjoyed when the French revolution liberated the repressed underclass. He wanted social equality but the industrial revolution just widened the gap between the rich and the poor. He often criticised the Establishment, especially the Church, for its hypocrisy and he was against things that prevented the human spirit from being free, therefore he disliked the rulings of kings and priests. All that surrounded him had an influence on his poetry. His poems are separated into innocence and experience, both opposites as Innocence has the sounds of laughter and joy the images of simplicity, children being protected, unthreatening animals like the birds and the lamb also beauty of nature, the roses and the non scary daylight, brightness and sunshine reflecting the creator's warm love. Next, experience which is something which you bring to yourself as time passes; here we hear sounds of crying, weeping, sighing and cursing. We see frightening animals like the tiger also the night which we associate with darkness, evil and sin. Blake compares innocence and experience by using; happiness and sadness, health and sickness, day and night, positive and negative emotions, beautiful nature and scary nature also the peaceful country a... ...in. I have learnt about the two opposite natures and the different states of being, it shows you how the times have changed and today's children have many more rights, but nature in all its excellence and beauty is still there and will never change. It portrays realism and the hardship that not only the children of that time had to face but all the poor, under privileged people. He captured his time using realism and the drudgery. He shows us unspoilt innocence and its saddening and moving how innocence can never last! Although Blake was not very well known throughout his life, he became a part of history creating some of the most passionate poetry of all time. He was an artist of great ability creating amazing pieces of work with profound simplicity encouraging and inspiring people around the world. Exercising the minds of many of us still to this day!

Alfred Binet

Among the most prominent persons in mental testing is Alfred Binet, who was born July 11, 1857, at Nice, France, and died in Paris on October 18, 1911. Binet completed a licence in law in 1878 and then pursued, but did not complete, a medical degree. Binet’s early interest in psychology was influenced by Charcot’s work in hypnosis. Binet then pursued other experimental topics, eventually arriving at his interest in mental testing. For much of his career, Binet served as director of the Laboratory of Physiological Psychology at the Sorbonne.Following a period of experimental research with Victor Henri, he accepted a collaborative research arrangement with Theodore Simon. Simon’s proximity to mentally retarded subjects and Binet’s membership with the Society for the Psychological Study of the Child formed the basis for significant research. Binet’s active involvement with the society led to his appointment to a study commission of the Ministry of Publ ic Instruction â€Å"from the vantage point of which he saw the compelling need to find a way to differentiate those children who could learn normally from those who could not† (Wolf, 1973, pp.21–22). After failing to obtain academic positions at three French universities, Binet produced with Theodore Simon, in 1905, the first intelligence scale â€Å"oriented to ‘tasks or behavior’ rather than to so-called faculties† (Wolf, 1973, p. 29). The scale was part of a more comprehensive process for differentiating normal and retarded children, and it was revised in 1908 and 1911. His test was introduced in America by Henry Goddard, who developed his own revision. The most popular American revision was that of Louis Terman in 1916. Binet’s scales ingrained the concept of mental age in testing for decades.The first experiments to catch his fancy involved the two-point threshold: the simultaneous stimulation of the skin by two compass points, and the determination of the conditions under which they were perceived as one or recognized as two. This procedure had already been the subject of much experimental investigation, and early psychologists had learned that the separation of points required to produce a sensation of â€Å"twoness† varies greatly with the part of the body stimulated—for example, it is some thirty times greater for the small of the back than for the tip of the index finger.Several theories had been proposed to account for these variations, focusing on the presumably varying distribution of nerves in different parts of the body. (Thorndike, R. M. , and D. F. Lohman, 1990). Binet conducted a few simple two-point threshold experiments on himself and some friends, and concluded that the theories he had read about were wrong in some of their details. He quickly wrote an article describing his experiments and offering a â€Å"corrected† theory. Always a graceful and persuasive writer, he succeede d in getting this published.Any pleasure at seeing his words in print was soon curtailed, however, because his article caught the critical attention of one Joseph Delboeuf (1831-1896), a Belgian physiologist who had done some important work on the two-point threshold which had been overlooked by Binet. Delboeuf published a critique stating that his own much moresystematic experiments did not agree with several of Binet's findings, and showing that he had already published a much more sophisticated version of Binet's theory long before.Binet had obviously rushed prematurely into print, and Delboeuf publicly humiliated him for it. (Thorndike, R. M. , and D. F. Lohman, 1990). Even Delboeuf's attack could not diminish Binet's ardor for psychology, however, and his next passion became the associationist psychology of John Stuart Mill, whom he would later call â€Å"my only master in psychology. † Binet was persuaded by Mill's arguments about the potentially unlimited explanatory p ower of associationism, and said as much in his second venture into psychological publication. (Joy A.Palmer, Liora Bresler, David E. Cooper, 2003) Yet Binet was once again treading upon dangerous ground. Associationism as a psychological doctrine clearly had its merits, but by 1883 much evidence had already accumulated to show that it could not stand as a complete explanation of mental phenomena, even after any possible innate factors were placed aside. In particular, associationism was ill equipped to account for varying motivational influences on thought, or for many of the unconscious phenomena that were coming to increasing attention at that time.Thus the laws of association were hard pressed to explain, by themselves, why a particular starting thought can lead to totally different trains of associations, depending on the motivational state of the individual. Phenomena such as post-hypnotic amnesia posed another difficulty for exclusively associationistic theory. When a recentl y hypnotized subject was asked what happened while he was hypnotized and failed to remember, he provided an example of disassociation of ideas.The stimulus of the question failed to bring in its train the associated ideas and memories, including the answer, which one would normally expect. Mill's laws of association had nothing to say about how ideas could become disconnected, or â€Å"dissociated,† from each other. (Joy A. Palmer, Liora Bresler, David E. Cooper, 2003) This time Binet recognized the deficiencies in his psychology without help from a Delboeuf, and took steps to remedy them. But even though he was soon to augment his associationism, he never lost respect for its great though incomplete explanatory power.Years later, when he attacked the problem of assessing intelligence, he would not be restricted, as Galton and Cattell had been, to the consideration of presumably innate factors such as sensory acuity or neurological efficiency. Instead, Binet would argue that â€Å"intelligence† whatever else it was could never be isolated from the actual experiences, circumstances, and personal associations of the individual in question. (Joy A. Palmer, Liora Bresler, David E. Cooper, 2003) Among Binet’s achievements was the founding (with Dr. Henri Beaunis) of the first French psychology journal, L’Annee psychologique, in 1895.He was a significant figure in early French psychology, and the studies of his two daughters likely influenced the subsequent research of Jean Piaget. Though Binet was neither trained nor served as a school psychologist, he has had an enormous impact on the practice of school psychology. References: Joy A. Palmer, Liora Bresler, David E. Cooper. Fifty Major Thinkers on Education: From Confucius to Dewey; Routledge, 2003 Thorndike, R. M. , and D. F. Lohman. A century of ability testing. Chicago: Riverside, 1990 Wolf, T. H. Alfred Binet. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973

Emergency preparedness and Vulnerability assessment Essay

Emergency preparedness and Vulnerability assessment Introduction            The residents were given warning in advance that would have enabled to evacuate from the path of the storm in advance. The national hurricane centre and the mayor of the New Orleans had communicated about the evacuation of the people in the city more than 24 hours ahead. This meant that the people would be able to clear the way by the end of 24 hours and not many that would be affected as experienced. The warnings were not too rate since the Orleans exit can be able to handle 2/3rds of the population within every 12 hours and therefore, all the people would have managed to leave before Monday when the storm reached the place. Although the residents were used to weathering storms in the past, the mayor and the hurricane centre had already warned that the storm was different from what they experienced and was travelling at a high speed of more than 170 miles per hour and of the category of 5 storms (Fradin, & Fradin, 2010). Despite the people’s willingness to evacuate from the city, there were some people that were careless and they thought that it was just the same storm causing them to succumb to waters. However, more than 80% were able to escape while 20% were still in the city since they lacked the means to leave the place due to lack of money for gas and transport (Clark Hakim & Ostfeld, 2011). New York: Springer.). Moreover, the authorities failed as they delayed their evacuation process until when the storm had already hit the New Orleans. The attitude from the responsible authorities such as soldiers and other rescue people led increased damages losses, and death of people as they delayed evacuation and rescue process until Tuesday when many people were already affected. If the people had an attitude that the storm would not be the same, all the measures would have between taken to ensures that all the people were evacuated from the city. Moreover, the New Orleans would have made initiatives to clear the city in advance. Therefor e, an attitude that the storm would be the same led to a number of people remaining in the city resulting to mass deaths and damages of properties. Hence, people’s attitude contributed greatly to the intensity of disaster that caused more than 1,800 deaths and many other missing.            Is the threat of a radiological â€Å"dirty bomb† large enough for the United States to need to train extensively for such an event? How can first responders train for such an event? How would the training be different in regards to whether the event was a terrorist attack or whether it was an accident or would the training be the same?            The threat of radiological ‘dirty bomb’ is large and US is required to provide extensive training to its emergency and other disaster rescue team to ensure that any event that may happen will be fully addressed. This is because a radiological bomb can cause enormous harm to people in the scene and those living to the environs of the events (Bennett, 2007). Training would ensure that the victims are carefully handled t avoid spreading of the radioactive materials to other places as it may affect other people. Moreover, detonation and decontamination process require skilled people to prevent them from contacting the radio actives. The training for the first responder should entail decontamination and detonation of the victims to ensure that the radioactive material is not transferred from scene of the event. First responders should also be trained how to secure and label the scenes to prevent further contaminations of other people.            Training for various emergency responders should be different based on the type of the event whether terrorism of accidental spilling of radioactive materials. More advance training should be carried out responders of terrorists’ attacks. This is because terrorists’ attacks may have modified radioactive materials to enhance quick spread of the material, which may cause mass damage. Moreover, different radioactive materials may be used and thus improved training is important to address all the issues that may result. However, accidental leakage of radioactive material can be handled easily since the radioactive material is also known. Moreover, only a definite location can be affected, which would be much easier to deal with the attack.            How can we prevent terrorists from acquiring radiological material within the United States? How can we prevent terrorist from bringing radiological material into the United States? Are our current safeguards adequate enough?            United States can prevent terrorists from acquiring radiological material through enacting laws through congress. The laws will prohibit any possession of radiological materials and put punitive measures for those found in possession. Moreover, the laws should also prohibit people working on radiological areas from handling the materials inside the premise. In addition, the laws should prohibit any transportation of such materials without licence or permit. Moreover, the congress can enact acts that put in place a special committee in charge of all radiological materials and regulation to prevent general public from acquiring them. In addition, any accidental scene that may expose radiological materials can be guarded to prevent terrorists from accessing radiological materials.            All importation and entry of materials from other countries should be screened from radiological materials to prevent terrorists from transporting materials to the country. The united states have various regulatory bodies such as nuclear regulatory commission, (NRC) and environmental protection agency, (EPA) that are mandated with regulation of radiological materials (Kapur & Smith, 2011). However, the current safety of United States on radiological materials is not adequate because federal government only exercises regulation of radiological materials to only countries that they do not have trade agreement. This poses a risk of importation of radiological materials from the countries on agreement thus resulting to access of the materials by terrorists that may harm the citizens.            Moreover, the transportation of radioactive wastes from hospitals and other area to disposal areas is not secure, which poses the risk of terrorists acquiring the materials during transit.            How could first responders even know that an explosion was associated with a radiological attack? Once first responders know that an incident involves radiological material, are there any sorts of special equipment or personal protective gear that they would need to wear into the affected site            The first responders can identify an explosion through devices such as Geiger counters, which are detect the dose rate of an attack in addition to other equipments that can measure the intensity and harm of the material (Issues in critical and emergency medicine, 2012). The equipments will help the first responders to identify the form, attack so that he or she may be able to take the appropriate measures to safeguard his health and life and that of other people. Moreover, in case of accidental spill-out, the first responders should investigate the cause of the accident before starting the rescue process so as to identify the cause. Most likely hood is that, an explosion in a radioactive company or hospital that are major sources of radioactive materials may have high probability of radioactive materials compared to those that may happen in other areas. Therefore, it is important to identify the area where the explosion has happened as a way of identifying the type of explosion. Since radioactive materials spread very easily in the environment, it is important that first responder should wear protective equipments such as respiratory protection from radiological hazards to prevent any inhalations and standard protective clothes that prevents one from direct contact with radiological materials. This will ensure that first responders are safe from radioactive materials and are able to use the right measures to attend the victims.            How would first responders decontaminate suspected contaminated individuals leaving the area? Could this slow emergency medical response or the transport of the injured to neighbouring hospitals.            The first responder should ensure victims remove all their clothes and leave them in the scene of a decontamination centre that may be established at close to the scene of hazard. Victims should flush their eyes with plenty of water and other body parts are decontaminated before leaving the scenes. Moreover, the contaminated individuals should be screened for any radiological material before leaving the scene to prevent further contamination to other areas. People who are not contaminated should be separated from those who are contaminated although through a screening confirmation. The process will prevent further spread of the radiological materials to other people thus reducing the effects of the occurrence. The process can slow emergency response and transport of the victims for medical services and emergency services should be referred to medical facilities without decontamination although handled with care to prevent further effects in case of inhalations. Thi s is because, the processes of decontamination involve phases and in cases of mass victims, attending individual victims could delay the process as steps have to be followed. Therefore, although the process of decontamination should be the first step for emergency responders, it may not be good for ambulatory victims.            What would be some of the long-term consequences of a huge radiological incident such as a radiological â€Å"dirty bomb† attack or nuclear power plant meltdown? Would there likely be lingering health problems with the victims of such an incident? How could the affected areas be recovered and brought back to normal? Provide a 1/2 to 1 page, single spaced response.            Huge radiological incidents may affect the scenes in that the place may be alienated and people may be displaced or economic productivity of the place lost. The huge radiological attacks are associated with many health problems (Kapur & Smith, 2011). The inhalations of radio-active materials can result in respiratory health problems that may affects lungs. Moreover, it can result in lungs cancer. Gamma contacts on skin may result in skin cancer to the victims. In addition, radioactive contact has been associated with increased levels of infertility in both men and women in long term. Defectives births can also be experienced by these victims to exposure of embryo or foetus to radiological materials during an attack. Other health problems that may arise due to radiological attacks include cataracts, skin deformities, and may also cause early deaths. One of the major complications with huge radiological attack as the one experienced in Chernobyl nuclear plant in1986 with fire-fighters was an acute radiation syndrome, (ARS). The syndrome was characterised by nausea, diarrhoea, and vomiting in addition to weight loss, infections, depletion of bone marrow, and bleeding (Kapur & Smith, 2011).            The affected area could be recovered through decontamination process that may involve collecting of all the materials in the scenes either decontaminated on the scene or transported to a more secure place where they may be decontaminated. In addition, the place itself may be decontaminated through the use of commercial decontaminants such as Alcon ox or Sparkleen. Screening can then be done to ensure that the area is free from radiological materials before people can resume their duties in the place. After, the area is free from all radiological materials, people can resume their work or if it was a residential area, people can start a fresh without any risk. References Bennett, B. T. (2007). Understanding, assessing, and responding to terrorism: Protecting critical infrastructure and personnel. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley-Interscience. Clark, R. M., Hakim, S., & Ostfeld, A. (2011). Handbook of water and wastewater systems protection. New York: Springer. Ensor, M. O. (2009). The legacy of Hurricane Mitch: Lessons from post-disaster reconstruction in Honduras. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. Fradin, J. B., & Fradin, D. B. (2010). Hurricane Katrina. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark. Guha-Sapir, D., Vos, F., Below V., & Ponserre, S. (2012). Annual Disaster Statistical Review 2011: The Numbers and Trends. Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters Huber, C. (2014). Five of the worst natural disasters in 2013. New York: WorldVisionIssues in critical and emergency medicine. (2012). S.l.: Scholarly Editions. Kapur, G. B., & Smith, J. P. (2011). Emergency public health: Preparedness and response. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Ramroth, W. G. (2007). Planning for disaster: How natural and manmade disasters shape the built environment. Chicago: Kaplan. United States $ Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA (2007). FEMA Flood and Wind Publications, and Training Courses. New York: FEMA Source document